No destabilization moves vs Duterte — military

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) assured the public on Friday it remained supportive of President Rodrigo Duterte as threats of destabilization swirled.

In a press conference, AFP spokesman Restituto Padilla Jr. said any destabilization talk would not come from the ranks of the military.

“‘Yung usapan na ‘yan na naririnig natin, hindi ho manggagaling sa hanay ng Armed Forces ‘yan because we know that we have a Commander-in-Chief who has malasakit [compassion]for every soldier and is doing his end of the bargain of taking care of every uniformed men who are doing their job,” Padilla told reporters.

“The Armed Forces as you have seen in these past few years and recent months have exhibited its very constitutionally based activities or actions. Mapagkakatiwalaan ninyo po ang inyong Armed Forces na gagawin natin ang nararapat lamang at ito yung nakalagay na mandato na dapat naming gampanan sa ating Constitution,” he said.

Padilla gave the assurance amid reports that there were plans to overthrow the Duterte administration.

On Wednesday, Duterte claimed that “yellow” and “red” forces were plotting to remove him from the presidency. The color yellow is associated with former president Benigno Aquino 3rd while red is the color identified with leftist militants.

Both the Liberal Party and the communist group have denied the President’s allegations.

Padilla said the military was currently investigating some left-leaning groups considering filing cases against the AFP. CATHERINE S. VALENTE